My Yellow // Teddy Lupin

Hazen Hates Tardiness

Professor Selwyn was nice enough to offer them her classroom. They'd have ingredients and no audience, which would make the situation - although still dreadful - as bearable as it could be.

Hazen crossed his arms over his chest and leant back on his chair as he was looking around the empty classroom. Professor Selwyn's office was connected to her classroom, but she trusted Hazen enough to leave him alone from time to time, so her office was empty for now.

Because he was alone, it was completely silent around the Slytherin boy, he couldn't even hear steps in the hallway.

Late. He was late. Of course.

As if Hazen had nothing better to do.
He could've written his Transfiguration essay. Or practiced nonverbal spells. Literally anything that wasn't waiting, like an unorganised fool.

Apparently those lessons weren't all too important for Lupin when he had the audacity to let him wait. Hazen didn't need these lessons. He gained nothing but annoyance from it.

There. Finally, quick steps approaching, getting louder and closer.

Hazen didn't move at all, his gaze fixed on the cauldron in front of him.
He heard the door open and the steps stopped. It was quiet for a second, then the steps returned and Teddy Lupin walked into his field of vision.

And he actually smiled at Hazen. Hazen's eyebrows only furrowed even more.
Sunshine guy couldn't be serious.

Without standing up or straightening his posture, he snapped. "You're late."

Teddy's smile faltered for a split second, before it returned as though nothing had happened. Hazen wouldn't have noticed, had he not been studying Teddy's expression for any signs of mischief, pranks or insincerity. No pranks then, if he was reading that expression correctly.

Teddy slowly exhaled and reached for the chair Hazen had set up opposite him. They looked at each other (one nervous, one sceptical) while Teddy sat down and put his bag down next to him.
"Only by a few minutes," Teddy said apologetically; polite.

Something heavy, fiery, angry exploded in Hazen's chest and he gritted his teeth to not snap again.

Icy silence was much more terrifying than screaming. And he was not impulsive, he always thought before he acted.

With his gritted teeth, Hazen exhaled, glaring daggers at Lupin.

"Seven minutes. You let me wait seven minutes when it's you who needs my help, not the other way around. And I was here seven minutes early."

With bitter satisfaction, Hazen watched Teddy gulp. His eyes darted through the room as though he was looking for any sort of help or comfort, before he directed the polite smile back to Hazen.

Any sort of sympathy Hazen could've found in the deepest parts of his fractured soul, had he been searching hard enough, disappeared at that.
He hated that easy-going smile.

It seemed fake. How could he smile all the time and not fake it??

"I'm sorry," Lupin said again. "It won't happen again." He lowered his eyes to Hazen's clean and neat looking potions book on the table. Probably to avoid looking at the Slytherin. "Thank you for agreeing to help me."

Hazen had to bite his lip to not remark that he'd not really had a say in the matter. But at least Lupin didn't take Hazen's help for granted. Good.

Hazen made sure not to lie and say 'you're welcome'.
So instead he decided to not waste anymore time and just jumped straight to the point. Not without putting an insult out there with it, just to be sure.